Colombian renewable energy projects spark Indigenous opposition

The Wayuu community maintains that current wind energy proposals disrupt their cultural practices (Flickr).

Indigenous communities' years-long opposition is blocking a proposal to increase green energy production in the La Guajira region of Colombia. Proponents of the continued wind turbine production in the region argue that additional projects will facilitate a green energy transition, while the local Wayuu community insists the turbines infringe upon their livelihoods. 

Fronting the Caribbean Sea and adjacent to the border with Venezuela, the northern region of La Guajira is a windswept, arid desert region. The semi-nomadic Wayuu community ranches, farms, and fishes in the area. According to Human Rights Watch, the community faces widespread poverty, struggles to access adequate health care, and limited access to food and water. Community leader Aníbal Mercado stated in the Associated Press that the Wayuu adhere to spiritual beliefs which elevate the importance of spiritual peace and tranquility for the community’s dead. This, he claims, drives the community’s fervent opposition to proposals to construct wind turbines and other energy projects in the region. 

Proponents argue that La Guajira is an ideal hub for renewable energy due to its climate. According to Colombia’s Mining and Energy Planning Unit, the proposed 30 wind farms could generate 15 gigawatts of power, enough to supply 37 million homes. Supporters, including government officials and energy firms, claim the projects will replace jobs lost as the Cerrejón coal mine declines, bringing economic growth and new opportunities to the region.

However, the Wayuu have mounted strong resistance, opposing not just land-based turbines but also offshore wind farms, which they fear will disrupt fishing, and the existing coal mine, which they argue has already damaged the environment. Offshore wind in particular, community leaders argue, will interfere with the spiritual and cultural significance of fishing in sacred waters. 

The Wayuu engage in protests, blockades, and legal challenges to delay construction. Executive Luis Enrique Marulanda of the Cerrejón mining firm noted in a statement to La Guajira that indigenous blockades increased by 300 percent in 2024, targeting both fossil fuel and renewable energy projects.

Under Colombia’s consultation laws, indigenous communities must be involved in decision-making for projects affecting their lands, but many Wayuu leaders argue that agreements reached so far fail to offer fair compensation.

While Marulanda claims his company has reached fair agreements with 87 percent of local communities and continues engaging the rest, Mercado has dismissed such deals as exploiting the vulnerable community, stating “An old saying goes that if you’ve never owned a chicken, manure looks like an egg to you.” 

Beyond economic and environmental concerns, Wayuu leaders frame their fight as one of sovereignty and self-determination. They argue that energy companies prioritize profit over the community’s well-being, treating ancestral lands as mere resources for extraction.  

As the debate unfolds, energy developers face the challenge of proving that their projects will genuinely benefit the Wayuu, rather than imposing an extractive industry on an already embattled community.